The Small Things
by Admiralkirk
Summary: After over three decades Sly finally retires and leaves Carm alone. Now it's ten years after that and Carmelita has finally retired and feels an empty spot in her life. AU(Events of Sly 3 and 4 never happened)


**The Small Things**

**A/N Hey, I'm new to the Sly Cooper fandom, I had all the opportunities to play it back when I was little, I even could have rented it from Blockbuster back when it was in business but it never seemed appealing to me but years later I stumbled upon it again, not as the actual game but my brother was watching a youtube video of a guy reviewing the Theivius Raccoonus and I recognized it. After watching the whole video I was hooked and looked up how every game went and after learning Sly's relationship with Carm I was already thinking "I could totally make a fic out of this" I will honestly say I haven't played any of the games yet or probably ever will(unless my cousin can get his brothers friend to let me borrow the first three games) But sadly I can't play the fourth for one simple reason, I never bought a playstation 3, I own 1 and 2 but never got three as I switched over to xbox. I will not try to persuade anyone to change because I've been on both sides. **

**Anyway back to what I was saying, I read a lot of oneshots in the Sly Cooper area and couldn't hold back, I've written Spyro and a few gears fics but this will be my first in this area, I really hope you guys enjoy it and I really hope that I don't mess anything up due to my lack of ability to play the games but I've done my very best to learn everything I can. ON WITH THE SHOW!**

**PS, this will be a bit AU, just to let you all know the story I'm working with is only up to the second game, the events of the third and fourth game never existed, it makes my job a bit easier in getting events right since I don't have to worry about as much things that happened and gives me the ability to make something important in this chapter make sense. You guys may understand what I mean later. So I just wanted you all to know incase you didn't notice and were like "Wait but they got together already once, and he's trapped in time at the end of the fourth" no none of that happened. Thank you. **

**PPS, I also wanted to point out that if at any point I called Bentley, Murray and vice versa, that's not my fault, I honestly believe Bentley should be the hippo and Murray should be the turtle, the names match the others better. So I have somehow let my brain believe it's the other way around so I apologize.**

Carmelita walked into the Interpol building from her last patrol and was surprised to hear….

"CONGRADULATIONS!"

She jumped in shock for a moment seeing all the smiling faces, then noticed all the party stuff too.

"What's all this?" she asked looking to her friends and co workers.

"For all your years of service and achievement to Interpol we decided to give you a goodbye party for your retirement" one of her friends said.

She smiled and said "Well thank you, you didn't have to though"

She already knew this was her last night on the job and didn't need a reminder but she smiled and grateful, at least they did it and that meant something.

The night went on with some cake, music, and even a final bonus check for all her exceptional work over the years which was gratefully took.

When it came time for her to leave she had taken all her mementos from her office into a box and said her farewells. When she walked out the door she turned and the reality of it all finally came crashing down on her. This was the last time she was gonna ever be here, sure she could easily stop by a say hi to her friends and see how things were going but that would be only a moment consider she had the rest of her life ahead of her.

She sighed, all the adventure and thrills in her life were behind her and even though she was now sixty, she could still take down most criminals like the good old days. Her fur had slowly started to get more dull as the years went by and the tips fur like in her cheeks were starting to turn silver.

She went to her car and drove home. While stopping at a stop light she looked to the box of stuff on the passenger seat and on the top was something she didn't like to admit she kept as a memento. It was one of those stupid insignias the damn raccoon behind for her back in the day. She hid it in her desk so no one could see it and as such was the last thing to be put in the box so it was on the top.

She hadn't heard from Sly in over ten years, the last time she saw him she was chasing him down and he had on a job to steal a massive statue, she had no idea how he was gonna do it at the time but like always he tipped her off on it. So she brought everything.

Carmelita didn't know how he was gonna steal such a big statue and like always was right beside it all night waiting for him. But the oddest part was he came worst way, he came through the front door taking out the guards there in one swift movement and made his trademark grin seeing Carmelita was here.

She ordered everyone to take him down and he gracefully and with ease took them all on making the only two conscious people in the room him and her. She had her pistols aimed for him and asked "So Ringtail, what's the plan today, you aren't gonna just walk away with a statue weighing a ton are you?"

"Sorry Ms Fox, but that's not how our game is played is it?" he smirked getting ready to make a move at any moment.

She got ready to shoot when he suddenly darted to the left and headed for a window. She shot a trail of bullets behind him just barely missing with every shot. He smashed through the window jumping t the next roof to escape her hail of fire and Carmelita ran to the window but stopped.

"He's obviously leading me away but if I don't chase him I won't be able to catch him" she thought aloud. Her pride got the better of her once again and she jumped to the roof and started the chase knowing full well the statue would more than likely be gone when she got back.

She had to catch up to him thanks to her extra thinking and saw he was heading towards a dead end. P ahead the buildings stopped leaving only a wide street in between to the next group of roofs which was way to large for her to jump.

He stopped and turned to face her, his confident grin still on his face as she approached and simply waited.

She came to a stop a few feet away from him and said "End of the line ringtail"

She chuckled and said "That's what you may think Carm, but I'm surprised, after all these years you still haven't figured me out.

She rolled her eyes, as she suspected he had a plan and somehow he made it work perfectly enough to flirt with her so for once she lowered her pistol and just went along with it "Sure I know, you probably have your two friends getting the statue now and you're just stalling"

She nodded "Guess I was wrong… are we really just going through the movements now after all these years?"

She nodded with a sigh, she hardly had to think anymore while chasing him and subconsciously knew he'd get away every time, there were times after he got away she'd wouldn't even get angry anymore and just appreciate the fact that he kept her in good shape.

"Ya, tell me Sly, does it feel like just another day at the office to you too?" she holstered her shock pistol.

She faked hurt and said "Oww, after all this time you think my flirting, my invitations to stop me and using every chance to see you is just a routine now, that hurts me deep Carm" totally joking of course but was telling the truth.

She rolled her eyes "Oh ya I forgot you got a crush on me still" acting like it was nothing.

She threw his hand to his chest and said "Wow I think my heart just broke… come on Carm you can't say that kiss all those years ago after we beat Clockwerk wasn't good for you either?"

She rolled her eyes, he had a point, after hours of thinking about that she begrudgingly realized she enjoyed that kiss, it was something she thought about while alone sometimes.

"And don't forget about our long talk on the helicopter" Sly reminded her.

She nearly blushed as that memory came to mind, that was the first time she ever truly got know him and realized he was much more normal then she originally thought, besides him being a thief he was relatively normal and they shared quite a bit of pass times. She even enjoyed it, so much so that when he escaped it was the first time she wasn't angry to see him leave. She almost felt a bit of regret.

She sighed "Ya, I do"

"So I guess that just meant nothing right?" he knew it wasn't but didn't want to make her angry by bringing up the truth she denied which would only make her shoot at him.

She looked won with her arms crossed and said quietly "Why did you have to be a thief?"

"Huh what was that?" he said hearing it perfectly well but wanted her to repeat it.

She groaned "Why did you have to be a thief I said, you'd make a great officer" she saved it last second with an excuse"

"Nah, being a cop would make me the sour apple of my family" he chuckled knowing the real reason.

She looked away then asked "Well I can't really blame you for going with family traditions, my dad was a cop too, still doesn't mean I won't try and stop you"

"I wouldn't have had it any other way" Sly chuckled

She nodded and asked "So what'cha gonna do now?"

She thought and said "Well considering this is the last time I'll be stealing anything I don't know"

She nodded then realized what he just said to her and gave him a stunned face "What?..."

"Ya… this is the last time I'll be taking anything, I've decided now is the time to finally stop and think about a future, take what I stolen and put it to use. Maybe even teach a new Cooper" he thought aloud.

"What normal woman would say 'ya I'm ok with my son or daughter becoming a thief' besides what girls do you know that would have a kid with you?" she asked realizing she sounded almost like she didn't want him to leave but keep up their game of cat and mouse.

"Well I considered you…" she shot him death glares "…Then I instantly realized that's stupid aaaaaand nobody else really, I was thinking of adopting a kid or something, get them out of an orphanage like I did" he explained now pacing a bit, he didn't want to give up this life but he had to continue on his legacy for his family. He always wanted to have that family with Carmelita but that was a fairy tale and he knew it and had been thinking of a more real option and getting a an orphan may not seem like a good idea to most but for him it made sense. He knew how it felt live as an orphan.

"That doesn't seem very fair, the kid is either given a life of crime or stay in an orphanage with no parents, that's not a really good choice all around" she said not liking the idea.

"Ya I knew you'd be against it but this is what I'm going to do, besides you aren't worried that you'll never see me again?" he asked trying to change the subject.

She took a moment to answer before finally deciding to tell him "Sort of, you do make my job exciting, and you keep in shape I'll give you that but will I miss your flirting and that stupid grin of yours, no"

"Oh well that's a shame because my flirting wasn't fake at any moment, it wasn't to annoy you or stress you out, it was the closest I could get to actual conversations with you because at any other time you would try to arrest me" he said truthfully looking into her eyes.

She looked back at him and saw all truth and it actually made her flinch a bit and said "Well… some of those lines were kinda good" she let slip out making him smile.

"…Listen… if this is it for us, does this mean you won't break into my apartment or my office anymore just to annoy me…" she then remembered what he said "To see me like before?"

Sly was now the one taking a moment to think "Probably not, you may not realize it but a lifetime of jumping around and all the hard landings has made my muscles ache and my bones stiff, that run from the museum to here was hard on my legs. Breaking in to your apartment and office would hurt in a few more years, and it just isn't my style to use the front door now is it. You know except tonight" he chuckled.

She was surprised to hear that he was growing old now and saying how hard it was for him, but what made her more surprised was he avoided the question like he didn't want to answer "You didn't answer my question"

He sighed and said "Ya, knew you'd see through that… no I don't think we'll see each other again. You make me think of all the good times which are all the times I stole stuff and I don't want to go back to that life after tonight. I know that probably doesn't matter to you because now you can relax so, good news to you right?" he asked trying to stay a bit positive.

She had to admit that didn't seem appealing at all, she always expected him to show up for the most stupid reasons, like he'd call her on her birthdays or wish her merry Christmas with a Christmas card of him. Over the years it became something that became a part of her day. On her birthday she sometimes waited at the phone for him to call then act like she didn't want him calling and the Christmas cards always made her smile.

"Not even gonna send me your cards?" she asked in a teasing way to avoid sounding like she'd miss it.

She laughed "What you actually took the time to open those letters?" this made him smile again realizing she actually cared enough to open his letters to see what was inside instead of just shredding them.

"Ya you could say that, it was more to see if I could figure out where you were so I could track you" she lied.

He rolled his eyes "Ya, I bet" sarcastically.

Off at the museum the alarms could be heard going off, hovering above the museum was a Interpol helicopter lifting the statue from the roof and Carmelita said "Murray, hacked into the copter didn't he?"

Sly nodded but frowned and said "Well any last words before this all ends?"

She turned "Confident, now that I know you are getting old I may just take you in" she really didn't have the heart to do it now, for some reason knowing he was done forever made it not worth catching him. She caught people because if she didn't they come back and do it again somewhere else, he was done forever. He'd never do it again and she knew it, he was a raccoon of his word.

"Seriously? You are gonna still try?" he asked slightly worried.

"Let's just say I'll give you a ten seconds head start once you get moving" she said remembering the first time she said that.

He smiled and said "You know how that ended last time right?"

"I'll never forget" she smiled warmly holstering her shock pistol.

Sly smiled and looked past her to see the helicopter moving its way towards them the engine getting louder as it approached and said "… See ya Carm, maybe I'll see you on TV sometime"

Carm frowned and said "Listen, you know where I live, if you want to drop by alright. I promise the cuffs will stay where they are, you and I may not be on the side but after tonight it won't matter. Besides I still have that wine for the party of me catching you that I have yet to drink"

"Tempting offer Carm…. But if this is the last time we ever speak… here take this, as a memento" he reached into his pocket and tossed her a cooper insignia. The engine was extremely loud now and Sly had somehow through the entire conversation taken baby steps closer to her and only now did she realize he'd done that since they were just talking distance away from each other and Carm was expecting him to give her the signature kiss before taking off but instead he simply just put out his hand to shake. She hesitantly reached out and took it and they both shook.

His fur was surprisingly warm and smooth to her touch which made her smile and she realized the kiss wasn't coming. He was starting to take a step back but she squeezed his hand and jerked him back and without even thinking gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and said in his ear since the helicopter was so close "Good luck ringtail!"

He had his signature grin on and nodded reaching up and grabbing the base of the statue hanging from the helicopter before being gracefully lifted away. He waved to her as they flew into the night getting a wave back from her.

She snapped out of her flashback suddenly from a car horn since the light was green and drove the last mile to her house. When she parked she picked up the insignia and stared at it for some time. Why hadn't he even called her or sent her some mail. Her life felt a little bit empty without him seemingly always in the background.

She sighed, now that her job was over she had nothing left to distract her from the realization that the raccoon that gave her a lot of excitement in her life was gone and never coming back.

She put the symbol back in the box and carried it up to her apartment and went inside.

She went through the motions in her home now, a daily routine that made her almost leave marks on the floor of her routes. Eventually she flopped down on the couch and turned on the TV to the news.

On the air was something she had been expecting all day, a news report on how the 'Great Inspector Fox' was retiring today. It showed all the achievements she'd done over the years, breaking the busting record and being named the most successful Interpol officer ever but finally came to the inevitable.

"But there was one thing even Inspector Fox couldn't accomplish and that was catching the legendary thief Sly Cooper, after years of chasing him down it was surprisingly him who gave up and after stealing a famous statue disappeared, and has been gone for the last ten years"

It started rolling pictures of him, mostly amateur photos of glimpse shots but a few were good making her remember the old days again.

She found herself looking to the phone and remembered that whenever something like this came on tv he'd call her and try to cheer her up. Yes he won but he knew it hurt her pride every time he escaped and it got on the news and tried to tell her she'd catch him one day.

She hated his calling especially those calls when it first started but after years she liked having someone in her corner, even if that guy in her corner was also in the other corner. She had put a call back feature into her phone back when Sly had left and wanted to use it to call him back in case he left a message but like he said he never called, ever again. She secretly hoped today would be the day he'd finally call, she was all over the news and she was expecting it to be too much for him to resist but so far not even a message, not even a single ring.

It depressed her so much that after the party she felt so very much alone, she curled up into a ball on her couch still watching tv, she wrapped herself in a blanket and wished her parents were still alive to call her, they had passed away a few years back, nothing bad just their time finally came and they passed away peacefully.

No she understood how Sly had always felt, his parents were gone for almost all his life and now she understood what it was like to have them gone. She was totally alone the capital of France.

She was almost about to fall asleep, when suddenly the phone rang, it made her jump up and look to the almost foreign noise now and slowly picked it up.

She placed it to her hear and said "Hello?" wondering who would be calling so late in the night.

"Hey umm… is this Carmelita Fox?" asked the voice.

She could swear she knew the voice but it was slightly off and said "Ya, that's me, who is this?"

"Kinda hurt you recognize my voice, but has been almost ten years" said the voice.

Despite what he said it took her a few seconds to realize. She started to smile widely and said "I-is… is this Sly?"

"Glad you remember my name, that's a good sign" she heard his voice chuckle, but he sounded a bit nervous at the same time.

"Oh my gawd, Sly where you been, where are you… WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME LIKE I SAID!" she asked several questions.

"First off, oww, that hurts my ears and second I told you I wouldn't do that remember, third… I don't think I'll tell you" he said.

She was a bit disappointed that he didn't even tell her where he was living now and was also sad that he really hadn't tried to call her over the years "So?... why are you calling now?" she asked hoping he'd answer this time.

There was silence for a moment before he finally sighed "I saw you were retiring and decided to call you and see if that was your choice or something else" he joked.

She chuckled "No it was my choice, I kinda had to, my age was making everyone stop letting me patrol and without you to chase it got boring"

"Never thought I'd see the day when you would say that without me your job would be boring" he said obviously amused by this since he once told her that without her his thievery would be as fun.

She couldn't help but blush knowing she let him know that she missed him "So I guess you saw the news too? Why'd you take so long to call?" For reasons unknown to her she was playing with her hair anxiously like she were expecting something.

He once again paused then said "Ya… sorry I just couldn't find the courage to call like I normally do but I thought you'd be angry with me or something" she could tell that wasn't the full truth.

"Hey remember I was the one who invited you to call me, I was getting pissed that you weren't calling me"

He could be heard laughing and then asked "Really? You were getting angry because I was gone; I thought that would be your dream that I'd stop annoying"

"It was… a long time ago but… to be honest with you I miss having you stop by, or call me" she said curling up a bit feeling comforted by just hearing his voice.

"Why? Don't you have other people who do what I used to, what about mom and dad, they called you right?" he asked.

Carm looked down and a tear started to go down her face remembering they were gone again and also realizing a key fact, he had no idea. He knew everything that happened in her life and made sure to help her out in a situation like that, either it being a card that said "Don't worry, you still got me" or call her and just talk but he didn't and that disturbed her that he knew nothing of what happened over the last ten years and said "No… they didn't… I thought you'd know but… they passed away a few years ago"

She could clearly hear he was shocked and said "Carm… I'm so sorry, I had no idea, please don't cry" he said already hearing her sniffing.

"It's not that… no not that, I came to terms with that but you didn't know that… you really have left me behind for the last ten years" she whimpered.

"Carm! No I didn't mean that, I really didn't, I thought you'd be ok without me anymore. I thought you'd be fine if I just stopped talking to you"

She whimpered and said "I thought I would too… but everything started to go bad once you left. I lost respect of my co workers, I was slowly turned into a desk worker for my job and everyone else kept fighting the good fight, you were the only reason I stayed on duty because everyone knew I was the only one who keep up with you, but with you gone they didn't need my help anymore" she was wiping away tears. She brought all this up because back then he'd help her with this and console her but he'd been gone all those years and now all she wanted was for him to do what he had always done.

"I… I didn't realize… I…. I'm sorry Carm" he said totally unable to think of anything to say.

"But that's not just it, I always imagined if I caught or you left my life would get going again but after all the hoping and dreaming your life goes exactly how you want it and I'm left in the dust, like a relic, my life literally stalled in place and never started up again"

She could almost imagine his face right now, actually stunned and worried when he finally said "Carm, I never realized how could I… how could I leave you like that" he then sniffed and Carm realized her calm, cool and collective rival was now on the verge of crying and realized just how much he cared for her, she only just realized that she had shifted all the blame at him and in a very harsh way.

"Sly, no wait I'm not saying it's your fault, please, it's more my fault ok? I let it all happen and let everything drift by, I had plenty of chances to…" she tried to take it back but he interrupted.

"No, this is my fault, I left you behind and even when I'm gone I can be the bane of your life…. I should have never called, sorry for ruining the night" he said his voice already drifting away from the speaker.

"NO WAIT NO DON'T HANG UP"

'click beeeeeeep'

She was speechless and suddenly hit the re-call button and waited for the rings, luckily there was a tone but after a few rings it opened the answering machine.

"Sly pick up the phone, don't you dare walk away… GOD DAMN IT PICK UP THE PHONE!" she yelled but nobody answered and she growled. She called several times tears running down her face realizing he wasn't to pick up and left one last message.

"Sly… please don't go… I lost you once, I can't go through that again, I can't go another ten years without you again… please pick up… please call back… I'm so alone, I can't take it anymore… just please… talk to me…" she said whimpering into the phone, she didn't care anymore and started to spill all her pent up emotions into this one message.

"Sly… I miss you… I just wanted to hear your voice, I don't care if I see you again I just want you to talk to me. I'm so alone *sniff* I… your calls got me up the next morning; you were the reason I kept chasing you all the time. You and stupid grin of yours… I miss that grin, I miss seeing you I… I…. I love you" she said then couldn't help but start crying again dropping the phone and curling into a ball.

After crying for several minutes she looked to the phone and realized the call was still going, in fact the message on the machine was still going and she reached for it. She didn't bother listening to see if anyone was on and simply turned the phone off thus ending the message and placed it on the charger and sat on the couch again, still crying like before.

She hadn't even realized she was going to say she loved him until it just came out and after saying it she felt all her emotions come up and force her to uncontrollably cry, but it made her feel something, like something was taken off her shoulders. She didn't even know she loved him all this time and now it was too late. He probably wasn't even using his own phone and she just sent that all to some random person.

After all these years it was the small things he did that made her finally realize she loved him. But it was far too late.

After much more crying she fell asleep on the couch.

In the morning she woke up, still very tired since she'd only gotten about five hours of sleep. Her eyes felt really crusty from sand in her eyes and the dried tears. She hardly moved for half an hour before finally slowly getting up.

She went to the kitchen and realized she'd have to make something if she wanted to eat and she physically and mentally wasn't going to do that. So to fix that she went downstairs and went to the closest coffee shop.

She ordered her own coffee, hardly talking to the server, he didn't seem interested in talking either, guess they were both afternoon people.

She finally sat down again at a table and took a sip of coffee.

"AH!" she hissed "Damn that's hot" she then uselessly tried to make the stinging sensation on her tongue go away before giving up.

She waited for it to cool which allowed her mind to wonder.

"Why'd I say that last night, why'd I cast all the blame on him and chase him off… guess that's what I've always done… chase him away" she thought in her mind. She was leaning on the table her hand keeping her head up and sighed staring at her coffee.

Just as she was about to try drinking again someone sat across from her and she said "Hey, can't you see someone is sitting here"

"Oh well then, I guess you really don't want to talk to me, or was all the stuff you said just for last night?" said the voice.

She said "What, wait how'd you…" she looked up and surprised to see a face she had almost forgotten. Yes he looked older and had a older wisdom to his face she said almost yelling but realized she was in a public place "…Sly"

"Hey Carm" was all he could manage to say.

She didn't answer and simply stared at him in shock, she got to see how he'd changed. His fur was relatively the same still, he wasn't wearing his mask anymore, he still wore that hat of his and his eyes showed wisdom, that only a man that had seen fifty years of adventure could have. He wasn't wearing his burglar outfit anymore but more casual clothing, still relatively blue but nothing like his old suit. He still had his cane, it was much shorter now almost the length of normal canes.

"What do my looks still keep up after?" he asked feeling a bit odd.

"Are you… are you really there?" she asked not believing her own eyes.

Sly smiled, he found it amusing to see her so confused, it was rare for him to see her like that and he tried to calm her.

"Alright hear I'll prove it" he reached out with his hand and gently held hers. He had to admit it was nice to be able to hold her hand and smiled to her reassuringly "You are feeling me right?"

She nodded but then said "But what if it's just my brain making me hallucinate the feel?"

He was slightly concerned by her hesitance to believe him and said "Well look around, is anyone looking at you like you are crazy and talking to nobody?"

She hesitantly looked around and saw that nobody was looking and froze realizing he was really there and slowly looking back at him.

He thought she looked cute as her eyes started to sparkle and smiled with the grin he always had. She smiled and tightened her grip around his hand.

"I guess you heard me?" she asked barely able to stop herself from jumping over the table and tackling him.

"Well… not me" he said sheepishly and regretfully.

She frowned "Wait then how'd you know…?"

He paused and said "Well… you know how I said I'd continue my family legacy?"

She nodded wondering what that had to do with anything.

"Well I have a daughter, not my own entirely of course. I adopted her from an orphanage like I said I would and she was listening after I left and told me" he said sadly believing she'd be angry that he actually had walked away and only by chance knew she still wanted him in her life.

"What's her name?" Carmelita asked .

"Samantha Cooper, Sam for short" he smiled "I've been training her for the last few years, when I first adopted her she only three, cutest little girl I'd ever seen, I brought her home and for the next two years just treated her like a normal kid, only until she became six did I started teaching her the basics. And if you don't like that fact I'm taking her childhood away I make sure to train her enough but give her plenty of free time, she has plenty of friends she's happy, and I tell her every so often that if at any moment she doesn't want to follow the path I have for her I will stop and support whatever she does, it's her life after all… but surprisingly I'm not her hero"

She had listened to the story; she had come to terms with the idea of raising the next master thief but was happy he wasn't pushing her too hard or forcing her to do anything but heard then end and asked "What? Who then?"

"Well after years of telling her about my adventures I eventually let a few things about a certain someone slip and she caught on pretty fast that this person was more than a mere rival" he hinted very obviously.

"…Me? Why me, I stand against everything she is working towards" Carm asked confused.

"That's the thing you aren't actually, my family does it what it does because people like you say it's illegal, if it wasn't then it really wouldn't be stealing, it would just be a world running on a five finger discount kind of rule. She dreams of having a rival like you were for me, someone who will chase her across the world and be more than just another cop on her tail. To be totally honest she's always wanted to meet you" Sly explained trying to explain.

"That doesn't make any sense though, I'm her hero but I'm also what she wants to fight against, this is way too confusing" she asked confused still.

"Maybe hero isn't the best word to describe it, but she has always wanted to meet you, especially after she figured out that I liked you, she always thought it was cute that I flirted with you and stuff. Then I told her about my phone calls… well she caught me one day writing a letter to you that I eventually didn't send for reasons you already know now and I was forced to tell her that stuff" he explained sadly.

"Didn't she ever ask you to sent me a message to see her, I bet if it's how you describe it" she asked.

"Well sure, she is quite persistent on that topic, she learned a lot about you behind my back, like your birthday, and every time it would be an important day like a major holiday or something she'd pester me all day to send you a message… but… I just couldn't. Luckily for me I still know more than her and kept her from sending anything herself… finally one night I couldn't take it anymore, a bit of me had always wanted to get into contact with you again and years of her pestering had finally made me say yes, and that's why I called last night" he explained.

"Aww that's cute, but also mean, you kept her from meeting me, that's kinda not nice" she said trying to annoy him too.

"Hey at least I finally took her advice ok?" he groaned, he'd heard it all before from Sam.

She lightly chuckled and asked "So I guess after you left the phone she heard my message I sent and told you what I said?"

"Exactly, once again she was the one who sent me here, she knew you lived near here and knew if you went for coffee you'd come here because it's closest" he smiled proud of her researching skills which would eventually come in handy when planning heists.

"Where is she now?" Carm asked a little excited she might be able to meet her now.

He was surprised to hear her ask this and said "At home, studying"

"Then come on, let's go!" she said getting up still holding his hand and pulled him up.

"HEY WAIT, are you sure?" he asked nervous, he never thought she'd want to see her so suddenly.

"Come on, if she's so cute as you say I want to see her, and you've been keeping her from seeing me all this time, it's only fair that she gets to meet me too since you get to" she smirked dragging him out of the coffee shop and to her car, he just barely grabbed his cane as she dragged him away .

"Hey slow down, my legs aren't supposed to go this fast anymore!" he said panting a bit.

She stopped "What's that mean?"

"Remember I told you that my legs were starting to go last time we met, well the doctor said I shouldn't be moving too fast anymore, I reserve fast speeds only when I teach Sam nowadays" he said using his cane to support him now.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know" she apologized helping him stand and found it ironic that the raccoon that she chased was now basically helpless.

"No it's alright, I can do short bursts but it hurts, if I go for long distance I could tear a muscle or worse if I push too hard" he said starting to walk towards her car.

She walked next to him and once at the car they both got in and Carm said "Hey I know you don't like telling me where your hideouts are but you are the navigator" she said hoping he'd trust her.

"I don't have a hideout anymore, I got a house now just go left and I'll tell you when the next turn is alright?" he said fastening his seat belt and securing his cane in a safe place.

She drove following his directions, he led her to basically the other side of the city and finally pointed her to a house that looked far more humble then she expected after all the stuff he stole. It was an average middle class house, enough room on the driveway for two cars; one spot which was currently filled by what she assumed was his own car.

"How'd you get here without your own car? We traveled all the way across Paris?"

"Let's just say when I heard the news I went to go so fast I forgot I owned a car for a few blocks, so I just caught a bus and decided if I ended up being wrong for some impossible reason and you told me to go away I'd be losing a few euros too" he chuckled.

She chuckled "Nice job smart guy"

He rolled his eyes as they parked and he carefully got out of the care so not to strain himself. Carm watched this and frowned, she felt sorry for the once nimble thief and patiently waited for him. When he was finally on his feet she walked with him to the door and he said "She probably already saw us and is waiting" chuckling lightly as he unlocked the door and opened it.

As she followed in she noticed the interior of the house was also pretty humble. Nothing felt too pricey and she smiled since she couldn't see one thing that she could remember he stole, he was too good to keep anything he took and show it off like a prick.

"I like the house" she smiled and he turned and smiled with a nod.

"We tend to like it too" he said with a smirk.

He led her inside and thought aloud "Hmmm, she usually always knows when someone is coming to the door, where is she?"

"Maybe she's nervous?" Carm asked hoping she hadn't scared her somehow.

"No she's usually ready to meet anyone, she's very outgoing, I bet she's hiding or waiting to surprise us" he said.

She chuckled looked around trying to see if she could spot her before whatever she may have planned happened.

Carmelita also turned to see Sly was still using his cane to walk, he wasn't putting much weight on it like some need to, must have it more in case of an emergency. They entered the living room and Carm liked the furniture and decor "I see you haven't put much money from your adventures into the house eh?"

"No most of it's in a secret place like my father and the rest of my family did, the only major amount of money I used was o actually buy the house" he explained.

"What do you do for money then?" she asked realizing that if he wasn't using his skills to survive anymore and wasn't using his stolen fortunes to pay for it then what was he doing.

"I got Bentley to hack into the government and every month it drops a bit of money into my account, I know that's stealing but it's not that much, just enough to be able to live at this standard, any money I don't spent by the end of the month is sent back to the government when I get more. Sorry if that's against your liking" he explained.

She wasn't quite sure how to react to that news but said "Well as long as you aren't abusing it I guess… hey where's your partners anyway?" she asked wondering where they went after all this time.

Sly smiled and said "Ahh you remember them too, good. Well anyway we stay in contact and they each stop by every so often, Bentley keeps his brain working is still tinkering around with projects. Murray he keeps up his driving with racing, but he recently got kicked off and is now a demolition derby champ" he said.

She nodded, made sense for both of them considering their talents.

"What do you do to pass the time?"

Sly turned and said "Well taking care of a head strong girl is already taking up most my time but other than that I generally try t keep my mind away from thieving, you may not think it but walking down the street is hard some days, I get the urge to pickpocket someone… it's hard you know, after fifty years of stealing I still have the urge to take things… I try really hard not to, and occasionally I find myself unconsciously reaching for pockets but stop myself" he said feeling really weak and ashamed that he couldn't stop himself. He looked away from her not wanting to see what she her reaction to that.

She frowned and walked to him and gently put her hand on his shoulder and said "Hey, it's alright, I understand. I've been there; I've felt like I've needed to take bad guys down when I was still with Interpol. But I knew my age and the fact others were out there doing it as well; I know how hard it can be to keep yourself from going back to that life" she reached won and held his hand and said "I am here to help if you need it"

He looked to her honestly surprised but comforted by her words and chuckled "What, by letting me steal from you?" joking around.

"Emotionally. I meant I'd help you emotionally Cooper" she laughed.

"Damn thought I might get a chance to root through your clothing again" he purposely made his tone sound like he could or couldn't be joking around.

She suddenly felt a bit awkward and even blushed a bit knowing that if he was saying the truth he may have seen some things she didn't want anyone to know but tried to shrug it off "Y-ya… sorry buddy, not gonna happen"

After a moment she let go of his hand and said "So we gonna find Samantha or not, or is she fake and you just used an excuse to make me come here?" 

"You calling me a liar over such a huge topic, when have I ever lied to you?" he asked pretending to be offended.

She rolled her eyes "Well when I see her I'll believe you" she smirked hoping this would motivate him to find her quickly.

He shook his head not liking that he was being made the fool and walked around looking in hiding spots she usually used.

Eventually he scratched his head and said "Must be in a new spot that she's never used before, hey Carm use your investigating skills and help me" he asked.

She said "If she's learning from you I won't find much"

"Just do it" he insisted still looking.

"Sure she isn't just in her room?" Carm asked like it were obvious.

Sly sighed "If she was the predictable I'd be there by now"

"Well maybe she's in such an obvious place it isn't obvious?" Carm suggested.

Sly paused, she made a very good point, maybe she was in her room, he never looked there so maybe she caught on.

He sighed "If you are right, then… I don't know what I'll say or do or owe you" he walked up to the next floor and went to a door, Carmelita at his heels.

He opened the door and sure enough she was in there, but was actually taking a nap.

Carmelita smiled and whispered "Ok now I believe you, and as you said, she's cute"

He smiled "Ya told you"

She had nice grey fur, not to long but enough, her raccoon mask was grey, she had slightly longer looking ears then average raccoons and cute face. She couldn't see her eyes since she was napping and couldn't see what she was wearing since she was covered by her bed sheets.

"Well now that I know you aren't lying, what we gonna do while she's asleep?" Carm asked.

"Well… I'd say go get coffee but we did that already" Sly smirked.

"Why don't I show you around the house a bit more?" he asked.

She shrugged "Sure"

He led her around the house showing her the 'not so amazing house' as he kept calling it but Carm smiled, it was humble, which showed her he wasn't a show off, which was what he always was. Whenever he won he never gloated, he used it as an opportunity to be nice be to her.

After the entire tour Sly said "And that's about it, no hidden doors like you'd expect"

Carm smirked and said "You never showed me your room"

He said "You don't need to see my room"

"Why what's in there, a bed, maybe some cabinets, books, anything else in there that you wouldn't mind me seeing" she asked smirking, she had a feeling there was something in there that he didn't want her to see.

"Hey I don't come into your room and… oh wait" he stopped realizing that would sound very dumb on his part.

She smirked "That's it; you owe me a chance to see a thieves room"

He gulped as she walked upstairs past Sam's room and to the one door they hadn't gone into.

"Hey come on Carm you don't need to go in there" he said trying to stop her.

"Oh I think I have to, since you apparently have gone through my stuff at least once I think I deserve to root through your stuff" she said turning the knob and opening the door.

She looked inside and saw it looked average, nothing that he'd want to hide at first glance. She saw two pictures right off the bat, one with Sly, Bentley and Murray and the other was of him and Sam, looked like her first day of school.

Next she looked at the furniture, the bed was for one, on each side was a night stand, one with picture of him and Sam, a lap and a clock, the other had a few books that he was reading right now. There was a dresser that she guessed had clothes in it and a closet, with probably more clothes.

"Umm what were so anxious about?" she asked seeing nothing really popping out at her as something he'd want to hide.

He was about to say something when she noticed something else, behind the picture on the night stand was another, but it was face down.

He noticed her see it and said "WOW! Hey I guess you've seen what you needed to see, so come on we'll get a snack while we wait for Sam" this didn't stop her at all.

She lifted the picture and was surprised to see a picture of her, she expected that but was surprised at what she was doing. The picture was of her sleeping in bed back when she was much younger, in it was Sly smiling at the camera and pointing at her. She looked down and saw she was hugging his soft tail like a teddy bear.

"When did you get this picture?" she wasn't even disturbed that he was in her apartment when she was asleep.

"Well… I think it was when I was about twenty five or twenty six, I was sneaking through your apartment looking for some files that you had on one of my heists, I messed up just a bit and needed to take a picture of something important, it was on your night stand and after I was all done I found you nuzzling my tail" he explained, he still had the reflex of her hating him if he ever did something like that.

She found actually kind of amusing too and looked to him and asked "So let's get past the fact you were in my apartment while I was sleeping and creepily took a picture of me sleeping, despite the circumstances and ask, why'd you have it face down?"

"I… kept it for the longest time, it as the best picture I could get of you and it held a bit of personal feelings but after we last met I eventually put it down because it made me really want to go and meet you again" he explained sadly feeling stupid again that he went against his emotions all these years.

She sighed trying to find a nice way to say it's ok and finally said "Well, here, I'll do you a favor…" she placed the picture standing up now beside the other one and said "Now it is back up"

He smiled and said "I always did missed looking at that when I went to slept"

She chuckled and said "There's nothing else I should know about" she was kinda scared to ask.

He actually did have more but felt like showing her them would get him a slap in the face and simply made the most believable "No" he could.

She knew he was lying "I'll just have to take your word for it" she groaned reluctantly walking away despite her massive curiosity.

They left the room and they heard something moving from Sam's room and Carm said "Oh she's awake, finally I'm so excited to meet her" she was getting all excited and bouncing a little.

"Ummm are you ok? I've never seen you this happy to meet someone like me?" he asked awkwardly.

She said "Hey if I can manage to hang out with you for an hour, I think I'd be willing to meet a ten year old version of you" she said guessing her age correctly.

The door opened to reveal Sam, she was rubbing her eyes since they had some sand in them. She wore a t-shirt and track pants, her tail was grey except three rings at the fluffiest part of her tail that was two black rings and grey ring inside.

"Hey Dad, I thought you left to talk to…" she then realized who was standing beside her step father "Inspector Carmelita! Oh my God I've been waiting so long to finally meet you, hi I'm Samantha Copper" she said hopping as she spoke then fixed her fur and tried to make her clothes not look too bad trying to look nice in front of the famous fox.

Carmelita chuckled and said "Hello Samantha, you already know me from what hear and your JERK of a father has been keeping me away from such a cute little fan. Nice to meet you" she said making fun of Sly who rolled his eyes with a smile at her comment.

"So does this mean you and Sly are going out?" she asked. She had known a long time that her step dad had a crush on her and always wanted him to be happy. She had a few handmade pictures of all three of them as a happy family hidden away in a secret compartment in her room's wall.

This made both Sly and Carm blush and Sly said "Honey can we stay away from that topic?"

"Oh… so I guess you just talked?" she asked feeling a bit disappointed that after all that happened last night they weren't together yet.

Carm saw her disappointment and pushed Sly "Hey don't crush her dreams, it could happen"

Both Coppers asked "Could?" Sly questioningly, Sam hopeful.

She nodded making both of the raccoons brighten up a bit.

"YAY" was all the two adults heard from Sam who was excited that she might have the two most influential people in her life around almost all the time.

Carm smiled seeing her excitement and said "Well I'm a bit hungry, how about that snack you suggested earlier Sly?"

"Oh, ya sure, come I'll make you and Sam something and you can talk" Sly said walking down the stairs but stopped feeling Carmelita grab his hand and quietly said "You know now that I said that we have to get together" she smirked.

Sly said "You planned that didn't you?"

"As I said many times before, I will catch you, and I finally found the one way to do it, and it's something I'm sure we can both agree on" she smirked then added in a slightly harsher tone "And if you don't I'm cuffing us together"

"She smirked and said "It won't need to come to that, I'm sure of that" he smiled and noticed Sam was still standing there waiting for them but she was smiling.

She started singing "Sly and Carm sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G" then giggled and ran downstairs then peaked around the corner to watch them but Sly said "Hey, no peaking!"

She disappeared for good and Carm said "She's a sweet kid"

"Ya, she's probably still listening though" Sly said.

"Eh who cares" she shrugged then stood in front of him and said "If she's only listening then she won't be able to hear this" she pulled him close and kissed him. He was surprised and was wide eyed until he figured out what was happening and finally kissed back.

When they broke apart they were almost out of breath and Sly still looked really surprised but Carm smiled and pet the back of his head and said "I never realized until last night that I've always wanted to give you a surprise kiss too"

He scratched the back of his head and said "Well… I'm not sure if mine were as good as your" complimenting her.

She said "You always know what to say" taking it with a chuckle.

He then asked "What made you see me differently?"

She thought it over and the obvious answer was that he showed interest and gave her pretty strong signals, not to mention she had always found him a bit handsome but said what she had learned last night "It was the little things, the calls, the cards, the 'visits'. Nobody took real time from their days to call me and cheer me up even though most of the time it was you who had made me sad. The cards were always fun to see and you were one of the few people who gave me more than half-ass gifts for my birthday besides my actual family. It was all the little things" She smiled to him feeling a bit of relief for telling him all this which obviously made him smile too.

He once again nervously scratched the back of his head and said "I didn't think they meant that much to you"

"At first not at all, I found it annoying but after awhile it became way more comforting since it became almost expected I'd lose you in a chase for some reason or another nobody really tried to say 'you'll get them next time' or 'hey at least you aren't dead' nobody did that for me except you after awhile" she said still smiling and looking into his kind eyes.

He had no idea that he had such an impact and in a way realized that the only reason she had kept chasing him was sort of because him. "Thanks Carm… glad you appreciated what I did, to be honest I always saw you as a friend, that's why you were on my Christmas card list and got birthday presents… but wait how come you never tried to get me anything?" he asked acting offended that he did no much and she never repaid the favor by doing something for him.

"Consider those times I let you escape, like when I gave you those ten seconds after Clockwerk one of those" she said arms crossed at how ungrateful he was for that, because not only did she give him a chance to escape but also let him escape after he kissed her.

He sighed "Alright good point" but really did appreciate that, he didn't have a plan to escape besides planting that kiss on her and cuffing her.

"Alright with that all settled let's go finally get that snack, we've been keeping Sam waiting abit too long" Carm suggested.

He nodded and they walked downstairs to continue catching up and so Sam could finally get to know Carm too. She held his hand tightly and both knew that from here on out they wouldn't be running from eachother anymore but would share their lives together.

**Phew ok that was LONG, I think that was the longest single chapter I've done so far, just over 10.2k. I want to quickly thank my friend htffan for proof reading for me. I know that there may still be problems but there were much more if not for him so thanks. I apologize if I got Sly and Carmelita wrong, as I said I've never been able to play the games but I know a lot from reading on the Sly wiki, but that can never substitute for hearing their voice, tone, way of talking and specific lines like in the games. Second if I got anything wrong in the timeline please let me know I appreciate any help. If you guys think I should I do have a few other ideas for Sly stories so if I get enough positive reviews I may consider doing more. So thanks and until next time!**

**Admiralkirk**


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